Tag Cloud
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Firefighters protest proposed budget cuts
by Kathleen Haley, published on May 24, 2011 at 8:49 PM
Storyline: City Budget
Loading images
About 150 firefighters and their families protested the city’s budget proposal Tuesday night to cut $9.1 million from the Sacramento Fire Department. As part of press conference held to protest the cuts, the fire department staffers stood in a large group outside City Hall to show their opposition.
The city is facing a $39 million budget gap for the 2011/2012 fiscal year. The idea to make cuts to the Fire Department is included in the budget plan proposed by Interim City Manager Bill Edgar and Interim Deputy City Manager Betty Masuoka. Final decisions on the budget will be made by the Sacramento City Council next month.
A group called Protect Sacramento, led by Sacramento Area Fire Fighters Local 522 and the Sacramento Police Officers Association, held a press conference Tuesday evening to protest the proposed cuts. The press conference was held shortly before the start of a City Council budget hearing on the Fire Department.
The proposed cuts “will put neighborhoods at risk, lengthen response times, and stand in the way of our ability to deal with real life-and-death emergencies,” said Jaymes Butler, vice president of Sacramento Area Fire Fighters Local 522.
The proposed budget cuts to the department could increase the number of alternating closures of fire equipment and staffers. The number of these proposed closures was unclear at press time because the City Council on Tuesday night may approve a $5.6 million federal grant for the department. The grant may lessen the Fire Department cuts. The money comes from the federal Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response Grant Program.
The Sacramento Press will provide an overview of the Fire Department budget hearing Wednesday morning.
Read the budget schedule here.
Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.
Flag Article As:
Conversation Express your views,
debate, and be heard with those in your area closest
to the issue.
Leave a Comment
Statistics and studies show that for fire fighting companies to be effective in getting tasks done at working structure fires, a crew of 4 - 5 is needed. Granted, tasks could be accomplished with 3 person companies. That would mean getting two fire companies to the scene to do the work that one company does now. Then the trickle down begins. As companies are pulled out of stations to fill the task assignments, those neighborhoods are now unprotected. Not completely, because if an emergency happens another fire crew will be sent. They will just be coming from farther away. As happens already, so imagine how far away fire companies will be after three person staffing begins.
Outsourcing ambulance service might work, but why? Because it would be cheaper? Oh right. I want a bargain when my or my families life is on the line.
Fires increase exponentially and the brain can't survive without oxygen for more than five minutes. At least Sacramento will have saved money. And by the way, firefighters and police officers didn't grow up thinking, "hey, what can I do to rip off the public when I grow up?"
The idea that public servants are somehow immune from the effects of labor supply and demand is part of what got us into this budget mess in the first place.
Along the same lines, outsourcing of certain roles should continue to be examined and compared to the current costs of these services. Outsourcing of ambulance services is one example.
I know this all sounds really harsh, but this is exactly the same environment that us private sector workers are dealing with.
And of course if any police or fireman doesn't like the sound of all this, they by all means should express their free will and go to those greener pastures for that better opportunity. There is always another young recruit waiting in the lobby who is more than happy to do your job for 1/2 the pay.
The other truth is there is more then enough money in the proposed budget to provide adequate fire protection for Sacramento. But Sac FD payrolls still do not reflect the simple fact that new candiates are lining up around the block to join the department.
Unfortunately our petty backbiting city council doesn't have theguts to stand up to the union, so I really can't blame the union for continuing to demand wages so far out of whack compared to the labor market.
As far as "negative impact", here is a quote off of News10.net
Fire Captain Jeff Helvin, who was seriously burned on the second floor of a residential fire, made an eloquent plea for public and firefighter safety.
"Delayed response time and inadequate staffing on the second due engine were the two leading contributing factors to that accident," Helvin told the council.
That seems like a negative impact. Or should somone, firefighter, cop or civilian die?
Lastly, what are the wages in the labor market? And what are the wages of a firefighter and cop?
Again the simple truth is that SacFD personnel are not leaving en masse for greener pastures, and potential replacements are standing in line for those same great jobs.
Now is the time to reduce city labor costs across the board.
Cutting back the workforce or cutting back pay does no one any good. Look at Detroit.
Look at Madoff, the Wall Street swindlers or the over inflated real estate of the late 90's and early 2000's. Can you still get a loan based on 125% of the value of your home?
Look at the pet projects of the city of Sacramento. 6 million dollars to front a mermaid bar? The arena issue? Seriously?
And there are no greener pastures right now. We are fortunate to have the job we have.
Lastly, again, what are the wages in the labor market? And what are the wages of a firefighter and cop? What are the wages of the checker at your grocery store? What about the guy that delivers the bread to the grocery store?
And - remember, the cops and firemen have already taken cuts and given back.
One way to find this "correct" wage is to cut pay + benefits 10% per year until retention / recruitment challenges are forecasted, then back off.
Andt the fact that you already took a pay cut has absolutely nothing to do with the price of the cheese. Your formerly ridiculously bloated wage + benefits package was trimmed back to just simply bloated.
Funny you should mention Detroit. I lived in Michigan myself for awhile and am familiar with some of the dynamics there. Detroit's industry was taken down by several factors, not the least of which is an outdated manufacturing model reliant on bloated union wage packages that was not competitive. It was not competitive with Asian manufacturers, and as it turns out it was not even competitive with non-union manufacturers that have all opened up in the South in the last decade or two. After running there business into the ground, the big3 are finally addressing this... I just saw that wages for new workers at the GM Hammtramick plant are in the $14-16 range, not the $25-35 previous wage.
Meanwhile for decades the leadership of the City of Detroit was a pawn of the local public service labor unions, taking bribes and kickback and focusing on their own re-election while doing little to ensure the long term viability of their city. If Detroit would have started austerity measures back in the 1970's they could have responsibly managed the city through decreasing population and the changes in industry and would compete with the sprawling suburbs, instead of letting it all go to waste.
Cut pay and benefits 10% a year? Until everybody quits and no more qualified applicants show up? Show me where that has worked. Mcdonalds and Wal Mart don't even do that. They still pay a fair wage and give raises. Granted, some times their employees move on to better jobs.... Wait a minute? How could there be a better job with your model? I guess in your world every job pays the same no matter the training or education and employees stay until they can't take it anymore. But where do they go? To a better job that pays less? Or just quit and live off of their money tree? I don't see the logic.
Garuanteed people will show up for those GM jobs at $14-$16 / hour. But I'm sure there will be increasing compensation in months and years to come until they reach the top level of their respective title after which they recieve a promotion which pays more and comes with raises.
And - please don't assume that I am a fireman or which you never include, a cop.
It's a nice article it will help my research.
Thanks